Like the rest of the world, we are trying to adapt to life in lockdown. Our centres may be temporarily closed, but that does not mean our metaphorical doors are closed to beneficiaries. Far from it. Our teams are still busy supporting beneficiaries as much as they can.
Before the coronavirus, we had been trialling a piece of software for nearly a year, which allowed us to offer physical support to beneficiaries who could not come to us in person for whatever reason. Whether they couldn’t get the time off work or they had family obligations, we still wanted to find a way to offer the same assessment you’d get in centres to be able to offer a programme of personalised activities and, even more importantly, be able to assess how well these were working for people.
Which is where Attend Anywhere came in.
“It’s basically like a medical version of Zoom or Skype, trying to replicate the experience of visiting a doctor or physio in person over video,” says Lead Practitioner Chris Gould. “It allows us to have a confidential conversation with beneficiaries and, as much as possible, mirror the experience you’d get with us in person where we assess the extent of your injury or condition.”
Attend Anywhere is one part of the journey a beneficiary seeking physical support from the Charity can expect to be offered. But the conversation starts much earlier.
“The first conversation someone will have with the Charity will generally be with our Assessment Practitioners on the Support Line,” says Chris. “They’ll have a chat to work with you to figure out exactly what would be the best support the Charity could offer you. If it’s physical support you’re after, they’ll pass it over to our team. We’ll then give you a ring to introduce ourselves and offer people the chance to have an Attend Anywhere appointment.”
Beneficiaries will then be sent an email with the time and date of your appointment. You’ll also be given access to test your connection, just to make sure you’re comfortable with the set up to try and alleviate any concerns you might have ahead of your meeting. You can also explore their Demonstration Clinic to get a feel for what it’s like. Then on the day, you and our physiotherapist will both log on so you can have a chat.
And then what? Watch our video below to hear Chris explaining exactly what you can expect from an Attend Anywhere appointment with one of the team.
If you’re suffering with a physical injury or condition and would like to speak to one of our experts about it, get in touch. Give us a ring on 0800 389 8820 or make an enquiry online.